Night Owl Cards

A few years ago, I introduced you to the concept of " the blob ," which is merely the player to make the last out in a ballgame. By extension, "the ultimate blob" is the player to make the final out in the World Series. I hope to keep that particular list going for as long as this blog exists. But the other day, while working on a post on another blog, I began to think about "the anti-blob". The "anti" to the blob, of course, would be someone who ended a game with a hit. The always celebrated "walk-off". And the ultimate anti-blob would be someone who did that in the World Series. Bill Mazeroski, Joe Carter, Edgar Renteria, etc. But actually, strictly speaking, the "anti-blob" would not merely be the "walk-off" variety of hit. It would be anyone who got the last hit in a game. And the ultimate anti-blob would be anyone who got the last hit in a World Series. It doesn't matter whether it ended a game. Ju...

I am trying to rid myself of the habit of referring to certain major league ballplayers as "nobodies." I know it's a common phrase used by baseball fans. It refers to players who are on the fringe of the major leagues. They could be rookies, and others not so hopeful, who are called to the bigs. They could be pinch-hitters, mid-inning relievers, and late-inning substitutions. But the phrase has gotten myself into trouble a few times. In this hyper-sensitive world, some people have objected to reading my reference of a player as a "nobody." The protests usually come from those connected to the player -- family members, etc. -- or those connected to the team, fans proud of their knowledge of their squad and eager to share it with the less informed. I'm not trying to rid myself of the term because of those people. Those are their hang-ups, not mine. I'm trying to do so because calling players "nobodies" is in direct opposition to my colle...

Firstly, I'd like to direct your attention to this post . I'll wait ... Toot! That's me tooting my own horn for one of the few times I've predicted correctly. Usually, my prognosticating, in a word, sucks. But I stand by my prediction: Rays in 5. I'm not half the visionary as the 11-year-old I saw at the card show Sunday afternoon. He and his dad were going from table to table buying every David Price card they could find. He had a bunch. They're probably all on eBay right now. Anyway, this is the time of the year, as it has been the last 20 years, when I pick out all the ex-Dodgers participating in the World Series. Some years there are none. Some there are a bunch. We have a fairly sizable crop this year. Let's start with Don Zimmer (above), the Rays' "senior baseball advisor." I don't know what a senior baseball advisor does. But on Sunday, his job was throwing out the first pitch. Zimmer, of course, was most known during his Dodger car...